“Everyone understands the guy is a special coach. Very, very smart.”
Trestman’s tenure in Chicago lasted two seasons, but Desai was retained by John Fox for three more seasons, then by Matt Nagy for five more, climbing the coaching ladder under Nagy, earning a promotion to safeties coach in 2019 and to defensive coordinator in 2021. More often than not, new head coaches come in and build their own staffs with coaches they know and have worked with or have relationships with, so it’s a strong endorsement for Desai’s qualities as a coach that two different head coaches after Trestman kept him and eventually promoted him in Chicago.
“There’s not many guys who are able to do that,” Trestman said. “The ones who do, it’s their adaptability, their presence, their intelligence. There’s a lot that goes into it. When coaches are interviewing, they’re always looking to find people that they know, that they have experience with, so it says a lot about who he is and his ability to adapt and get along and work with others.”
Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, who worked with Desai in Chicago before coming to Seattle in 2017, said Desai’s ability to survive multiple coaching changes “tells you that everyone understands the guy is a special coach. Very, very smart… He’s somebody who’s just very dedicated to his craft.”
Hurtt worked with Desai for three seasons in Chicago and learned enough about him in that time that he made it a priority to bring Desai to Seattle after he was promoted to defensive coordinator this offseason. After Desai and the rest of Chicago’s coaching staff became available following another coaching change there, he quickly became a sought-after commodity, and Hurtt and Pete Carroll worked hard to bring him to Seattle.
“That was huge,” Hurtt said. “Obviously you want good people, and you know you’re getting a good coach when other people want that coach. That was priority No. 1 to me, and Pete and John (Schneider) knew how important that was. You…